Gerontological Society of America
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Research
My research program in aging focuses on the relationships among social contact, communicative skills and cognition. Despite the fact that
the oldest old are the fastest growing segment of the population, the relationships among language, cognition and social engagement have not
been examined in this age group. Indeed, even the existing literature on oral language and aging has largely focused on adults under the age
of 85. Cognitive effects on communicative skills have not been uniform; i.e., there is no single dynamic that captures the relation of cognition
to communication. What role social contact plays in the maintenance of communicative skills remains largely unexplored.
Our first study explored this question in non-Hispanic white individuals who lived independently and alone. To obtain information on their
social contact, we used a modified version of the Rochester Interaction Record (Reis, 1991). The Cognistat served as our dementia screening
as well as out Cognitive Assessment. Several language measures were used including the Boston Naming Test and items from the WIAT II.
We found that performance on the cognitive and language measures was predicted by social contact variables. The BNT was predicted by models
including education plus each of the following: type of residential setting, the number of different relationships, and the proportion of
interactions involving family. Individuals with fewer interactions with family, more than a high school education, and living in a setting
with more planned activities produced higher scores on the BNT. For the WIAT II discourse items, a model including performance on the Cognistat
plus residential setting predicted performance. Higher scores on the WAIT items were associated with a higher Cognistat score and living in a
residential setting with more activities.
Three follow-up studies are currently in the planning stage. One will examine whether there are particular types of family interactions that
may foster or compromise the maintenance of communicative skills. The second looks in greater detail at the characteristics of residential
settings and their contribution to supporting cognitive and communicative competence. The third will examine ethnic variation as it contributes
to supporting social contact and communication.
This research is located at The Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan.
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